Bangkok Solo Backpacking Part 2

Date Trip: April 10, 2012

Woke up at about 6am, packed my stuff, left it at the reception,  and checked-out early from the hotel.

The primary reason I chose the @Hua Lamphong, the hostel I stayed in, is its accessibility to the Hua Lamphong Railway station.

Morning Walk Sight-- Monks lined up

Hua Lamphong Railway Station

I walked to the station and bought my train ticket for only 20 Baht. About an hour and a half until my train arrives so I had a quick breakfast in a local bakery and chilled for a while.

Train ticket to Ayutthaya

All sorts of travelers

The train is a Class C economy train. There are some foreign travelers who boarded the train and will alight in Ayutthaya. But most of the riders are locals going out of the city perhaps to their native provinces.

The trip is an more than an hour long. As I arrived, I walked around the station weighing my options. So, how would I go around Ayutthaya? Will I join the young European couple who sat across  me by the train or the couple of Korean guys who were . Anyways, I decided to just go by myself so I can be at my own pace.


I hired a tuktuk which cost me 400Baht to tour me for 2 hours visiting 4 temples. It's quite pricey though since I was alone, but I guessed it was the cheapest way to go around Ayutthaya anyhow.

My tuktuk and lady tuktuk driver

And here are snapshots of temples in Ayutthaya.


Wat Yai Chaimongkhon

Wat Yai Chaimongkhon

Wat Yai Chaimongkhon

Wat Maha That

Buddha Head on Tree, Wat Maha That

Wat Maha That

Wat Maha That

Wat Maha That

Wat Chaiwattanaram
This temple was actually closed during my visit since for precautionary measures since it was damaged by the last Thailand flood.

Wat Chaiwattanaram

Turista-shot care of other Pinoy tourists I encountered.

Wat Lokayasutharam

My tour ended around 11:30 AM. I had a quick modest lunch of barbecued chicken and rice in the sort of eatery fronting the train station. My lunch cost only about 40Baht.


I waited for a train back to Bangkok. Train ride going back costs cheaper at 15Baht.  The ride was long, hot, and sticky.


When I get back to the city, I tried hailing a cab going to Platinum Mall to no avail. I guess, it's rush hour and cab drivers here choose their passengers as well. So I asked the hostel receptionists how to take the MRT and BTS (Bangkok Train System) to Platinum. After giving me some written directions, off I go.


My quest to Platinum through Bangkok's city train systems is an adventure by itself. I got lost several times, boarding on or alighting from a station that sounds rather very similar to the one I was supposed to. And there was that time where I destroyed the ticket machine in one of the stations. (Another Nel moment for the books!)


So how in the world did I destroy a BTS Ticket Machine, you may ask? So, in the MRT, you're given chips as tickets. Apparently in BTS you're given a card (which I didn't know that time). I lined up the ticketing booth, told the man behind the counter my destination, gave my money bill, and he gave me coins.  I thought the coins were the tickets, a less high-tech version of the ticket chips from the MRT. So i dropped it in the ticket machine. And it got stuck. They have to open up the machine to retrieve my coin.  The man gave me coins to buy tickets from the ticket vending machine! I wanted to be swallowed by the ground, and I felt that the BTS guys were thinking that I am such a stupid tourist.  Well perhaps I was. So anyways, the ticket machine broke, and even when I returned back from shopping in Platinum the machine is still broken.


I returned from shopping late in the afternoon, showered, and went to the airport.
Tired and anxiously waited for my plane to bring me back home.


As I was excited to embark on that epic 4-country semi-solo trip, I was more eager to come back home.

Bangkok, Thailand Solo Backpacking Part 1

Date trip: April 9.


This is the last leg of my backpacking adventure.

I arrived Bangkok about 5pm, rode the airport express train, walked, transfered to the MRT, and alighted in Hua Lamphong station where my hostel, @Hua lamphong inn, is located.

I booked a solo room which costs about 650 Baht. It's ok in the sense is that it has a bed, fridge, own bathroom, and a flat screen TV. However, the room is on the 5th floor and there is no elevator. The absence of a wide open window made me feel claustrophic and I seem to be in a prison cell more than a hotel room. This cramped space made me miss home.  


Anyhow, I went down the lobby, asked the receptionist who happened to be lady-boy, how to get to Platinum mall but he/she said it's already closed and advised me to go to Silom instead (or at least that's what I heard). 


So I boarded the MRT alighted at Silom, looked for any semblance of a shopping center to no avail. I walked aimlessly, saw a Thai massage place and went in. I looked at the menu and prices, I felt weird when I saw an option of 'Massage with Cream', and felt weirder when I saw a set of index cards with photos of the therapists--all male. I asked if they have female therapists, and the guy said 'no, only male'. So I excused myself and went out.  Dafuq did I enter into! 


I rode back the MRT back to Hua Lamphong, walked along the hostel street and saw a massage place. Checked it out, and yup, female therapists! Not that shady kind of place. I had a traditional Thai massage for 200baht. My therapist is an old lady, perhaps in her 60s, but she has incredible strength. It's one the better massages I had.


After the invigorating massage, I walked back and I saw a food stall in an alley. They cook as you order. I ordered fish tom yam, and its the best fish tom yam I ever tasted.
  

After dinner, went back to the hotel to sleep.


Tomorrow, I commence Temple Run.

Three Countries, One Day

This day  marked an epic day, well at least for me. 3 meals in 3 different country. Breakfast in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Lunch in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Dinner in Bangkok, Thailand.

After the complimentary buffet breakfast in Hotel Santika Jogja, we flew out to Kuala Lumpur. The flight from Yogyakarta to KL was the noisiest flight I've ever been. The other passengers mostly Indonesians kept on talking and talking in loud voices during the flight. In other flights I've had, chatters only happen on the first few minutes then dies down eventually . But no! In this flight, they were just talking and talking from take off to landing.

Anyways, we landed in KL in one piece.

Here, my companions go back to their daily grind lives in KL, while I catch another flight to Bangkok.

Craving for some  Westernized Asian food, we ate in Marrybrown and I ordered some fried chicken with nasi lemak.

Then off to my 3 hour flight to Bangkok.

In Bangkok, in Hua Lamphong,  in some alley  where the drivers eat, I had the most delicous fish tom yum I've tasted for only 60 Baht!

 
Today is epic meal time.

Yogyakarta, Indonesia Part 2

Today we toured Central Java.

In a hired van which costing us IDR 100,000 each, we went to see the beauty Java offers.

Our first stop is the ruins of the magnificent Borubudur temple. Borubudur is the single largest Buddhist in the world and one of  UNESCO heritage sites. Built in the 9th century the ruins were rediscovered  in 1814 by Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. The temple has 6 square platforms, and three circular platforms on top.

Borubudur Temple

This is the most popular tourist spot near Yogyakarta. About 1.5 hours drive from the city, we arrived at 10am and the sun was scorching hot. Again, we got tickets as locals which saved us about 80% of the costs.

Visitors here are mostly locals (or maybe they pretend to be locals like us. Hmmm I doubt). There are some Western visitors, but Asians outnumber them. Outside the gates were vendors and hawkers selling water and souvenirs and renting umbrella. Upon entering, we got some sarong. Actually, the sarong are for those wearing shorts or sleeveless tops. (It's a holy place of worship, so decent clothing is required.)  But since everyone is getting, we got as well.

Then it's a whole lot of picture taking.

Elephants at Borubudur Temple

One of the 504 Buddhas

And more temple running.

We rode a kalesa on our way back from the temple to the van and headed for lunch in Sekar Kedhaton, a nearby restaurant behind a silver factory store.

Then we drove to View Deck wherein our view suppose to span from Mt. Kerapi, an active volcano to another mountain. It was a long drive up, and when we arrived it was raining and foggy. We weren't able to get out of the car and we didn't see the said spectacular view. We just bought some grilled corn and ate it in the car.

We went back to the city and headed to Marioboro Market which is lined up with Batik stores, souvenir shops, street vendors and more street vendors. It reminds me very much of Divisoria.

For dinner, we ate in an eatery which serves Gudeg. Gudeg is  young jackfruit stewed with palm sugar and eaten with rice, opor ayam (a sort of chicken curry or adobo), a hard-boiled egg, spicy buffalo skin (which is like soft chicharon), and tofu. 

Then, we had a quick stop in the only mall in Yogyarta for some Starbucks and we called it a night. An early trip tomorrow awaits.

Yogyakarta, Indonesia Part 1

It was an uneventful bus ride from Singapore to Malaysia. In KL, met a friend for dinner and spent the night in my cousin's place. Woke up at 4am to catch the earliest AirAsia  flight to Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Yogyakarta, Indonesia. My cousin mentioned in passing that she's going there for Easter. It was my first time to hear about that place. My little knowledge about Indonesia only spans from  Jakarta and Bali (and that Indonesia is #1 Facebook country in Asia). So when I learned that Yogyakarta has temples, one of which is Borubudur temple, 400 years  older than Angkor Wat in Cambodia, I felt excited to go. And so I went. This leg of the trip, I'm not traveling solo.

This is my first time in Indonesia. I don't know what to expect, but a voice inside my head keeps on reminding me to be extra careful. I'm paranoid with notions of swindle and tourist traps. My cousin who came a day earlier in Jogja warned me because she felt harassed by the Airport Customs.

But none of those things happened. Everything was, well, normal.  I stepped out of the airport, got my money changed, bought a local sim card, and lined up for  taxi from the 'official' taxi stand. It's airport looks like any provincial international airport in our country. Think CDO airport or Legaspi airport.

My cab ride going to the hotel is 50,000 IDR! Which is about P250. I stayed in Hotel Santika Premiere where my cousin and her colleagues were booked.

After breakfast and freshening up, we rode a 'padyak' pronounced 'pedjek' going to a nearby church.  It's a tricycle where the driver at the back. Scary thing is that for a while  we were traveling on the opposite lane, against the traffic. Vehicles were approaching us.  We were on the wrong lane. 

Padyak on the opposite side of the road. See the approaching traffic

After the church visit and action stunt, we hired a car to drive us to see the sights.  This cost 500k IDR for the whole day.


Our first stop was Taman Sari or  Water Palace in  Kraton village. The palace is where the Sultan  and his concubines hang-out before. 

It rained when we got there so I did not see the whole place. Stupid me for leaving my umbrella inside my back pack.

Taman Sari (Water Palace), Yogyakarta

Then we went to a Batik art gallery and bought some paintings

.

I'm a painting.

After, we traveled to Prambanan Temple.
Prambanan Temple is one of UNESCO Heritage Site and is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. It was built in the 9th century  to honor god Shiva. Entrance fee for foreigners is $13 (RP 137,000), but since we were mistaken to be locals, we only paid RP 30,000, a fraction of the price.

Ticket says we are Indonesians

Prambanan Temple was amazing.

Prambanan Temple

And here, I got inspired to do some temple running.

Temple Run in Prambanan

More temple runs!

Our dinner is in a lovely Javanese style restaurant named "The Secret Garden of Kalasan".

And after a long delicious dinner, we went back to the hotel. I had a massage and woke up by 1030pm to attend Easter Eve/Salubong mass.

My first time to attend mass in Bahasa. A perfect way to end day one in Indonesia.

Singapore Solo Adventure Part 2

Holy Thursday. If I were in Manila, I will be spending the night visiting churches and reliving the Stations of the Cross during Visita Iglesia. This day, I was in Singapore and I thought, why not do Visita Iglesia here.


So, a quick research online, I found the names and addresses of churches within Singapore. Right after breakfast, I boarded the train and started my Visita Iglesia. This is the first Visita Iglesia I'm doing outside the Philippines.
First Leg- Victoria Street/Queens Road.

1. Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes, Ophir Road, Singapore

then walked further and further down the road

2. St Joseph Church

St. Joseph Church, Singapore

3. St Peter and Paul

St. Peter and Paul, Singapore

4. Good Sheperd Cathedral

Good Sheperd Cathedral

Stopped as well in Singapore Art Museum (which looks like a Church as well, and perhaps it was before) and Chjmes.

Singapore Art Musuem

Chjmes

Then boarded the MRT and alighted at Boon Keng station. It was a long walk under the scorching sun until I reached the next church.


5. St. Michael's Church in St. Michael's Road. This seems to be somewhere in a residential outskirt of Singapore. Lots of residential condominiums and single detached houses). Happy to see 'regular houses' in SG.

St. Michael Church

Walk back under scorching sun until the main street, rode a bus, then the MRT, and walked (and got lost) going to the next church. Novena Church.

Novena Church

While here, the rain poured and it poured hard. I waited for it to subside and walked back to the MRT station.


My last stop is St. Andrews cathedral- an Anglican church, which is one of the highlights of Singapore City as well.

St. Andrew's Cathedral

Went back to Chinatown, famished and tired. Had late lunch in a Chinese Restaurant (damn expensive noodles!) and rested and freshened up for the night.

SGD 15 Noodles!

That night, we watched Wicked. And it was wicked! :)

Afterwhich we went to Marina Barage, to watch the night kite flyers and to get view of the city by night.

Finding peace in a city so busy

We capped of the night, and my Singapore trip, eating hummus and lamb kebabs, and smoking shisha, seated by the sidewalk with laid out carpets in one of those side streets in Kampong Glam.


Singapore, til next time.